Famous universities

4. California Institute of Technology

Location: Pasadena, California, US
Founded in 1891, the California Institute of Technology – or Caltech, as it is often known – is a small but hugely influential research university, particularly within the fields of engineering and natural science. Indeed, the school currently boasts 74 Nobel laureates, while alumni have also contributed heavily to NASA missions and defence research projects. An unusually large amount of Caltech graduates also go on to earn PhDs.
The school shares a famous rivalry with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology while, in recent years, has enjoyed a boost in profile through the television sitcom The Big Bang Theory, where many of the show’s main characters are fictionally employed.

5. University of Oxford

Location: Oxford, England 
As the oldest university in the English-speaking world (there is evidence of teaching as far back as the 11th Century), the University of Oxford boasts a history and influence in the UK that is quite remarkable. This includes 71 Nobel Prizes, 160 Olympic medals and 6 Turing Awards, while 27 British Prime Ministers (as well as numerous international heads of state) have received their education there.
Split into 38 member-colleges, each of which maintains its own unique traditions and culture, Oxford is known for its small teaching groups and tutorial-style of learning. It also features several prominent clubs and societies, including the Oxford Union (which regularly features world-famous speakers) and the notorious Bullingdon Club, a society similar in structure and influence to the Skull and Bones at the US’s Yale University. In addition, the university also boasts the world’s largest university press, as well as the world’s oldest university museum.

6. ETH Zurich

Location: Zurich, Switzerland
The only top 10 entry outside of Britain or the US, the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich – otherwise known as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich or, more simply, ETH Zurich – is a STEM-focused institution noted particularly for its contributions to physics and chemistry. Indeed, since its founding in 1855, 21 Nobel laureates – including none other than Albert Einstein himself – have spent time at ETH.
Undergraduate courses are taught in German (although English-taught postgraduate opportunities are available), while a second more rural campus – Science City – was constructed to celebrate the university’s 150th anniversary in 2005. The school is also known for the prestigious Polyball event, a traditional ball dating back to the 1880s in which over 10,000 people annually take part.